all things Brazilian, political, and fast-foody.

Monday, February 14, 2005

(Alta) Fidel(idade) Castro



Max de Castro, Afrosamba: Afrosamba

I warned you. I said that R&B was having a huge influence on contemporary Brazilian music, but you didn't listen, now did you. Given that Brazilian artists have been incorporating funk, soul, motown and other influences into the mix, it doesn't seem all that surprising that today's Brazilian artists take R&B and make it their own.

Much along the same lines as Jair Oliveira (another artist on the Trama Records label... See previous post), Max de Castro is well up on his Andre, Kanye, Jill Scott, Alicia Keys and others. Afrosamba is a tribute to the contemporary R&B influence on the Brazilian music scene, and one of its most accurately and effectively implemented examples. Drum machines and heavy production (which isn't to say bad production, in this case) create a really strong and unique sound, one that, I might dare say, have the ever-elusive "crossover appeal."

De Castro's father, Wilson Simonal, was another pioneer of Brazilian music (I imagine by this point no one is all that surprised). Simonal was Brazil's Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Temptations, etc. all wrapped into one. His records bring to mind the great works of Motown, with a berimbau, pandeiro and agogo just to remind you where they're coming from.

Simonal's other son is Wilson Simoninha, a like-minded soul to his brother Max in the musical sense. His influences are largely the same, and Simoninha is also on the Trama label. More about him in future posts...